The invention pertains generally to the field of communications network systems, and in particular to techniques for dynamically optimizing network capacity allocation based on data load variations across the network to maximize the network data throughput.
Acronyms used in this specification are defined below:
ANIactive node identifierACTaccess control tagBACbus access controllerBCRbus capacity requestBTSbyte timeslotEOBend of bus (source node)HWhardwareL1ISO OSI model network protocol layer 1, i.e., the physical layerL2ISO OSI model network protocol layer 2, i.e., the data link layerL3ISO OSI model network protocol layer 3, i.e., the network layerSNIsource node identifierSWsoftwareTStimeslot
Conventional communications networks are limited to physical layer network connections that have non-adaptive capacities, such as standard Ethernet or SDH/SONET or WDM connections, i.e., connections whose bit rate, once provisioned, is constant until the network is re-provisioned to chance the connection capacity. However, re-provisioning conventional networks to change connection capacities is normally a slower process by orders of magnitude that what would be needed to keep the connection capacities optimized per their real-time data traffic load variations. Worse still, when conventional networks are re-provisioned, e.g., to change a connection capacity, the network capacity related to such re-provisioning would not be delivering any data during the re-provisioning process.
Thus, despite that a significant and rapidly growing amount of the communications traffic generating revenues for the network operators is packet-based, i.e., such that forms variable data loads to be transported over network connections, conventional networks rely on physical layer connections whose capacities are normally constant once provisioned for a given network application. With such conventional networks where the connection capacities do not adapt dynamically according to the real-time data load variations, providing minimum network data throughput guarantees among a set of network nodes requires over-provisioning the network, i.e., setting aside capacity ahead of time for all possible traffic load distribution scenarios, even though only one of such scenarios will take place at any given time.
As a consequence of relying on such non-variable bandwidth physical layer connections, when a network needs to be configured to provide minimum throughput guarantees (which is typically necessary to support higher revenue services), the capacity of conventional networks is effectively under-used. Accordingly, the conventional networks, due to being limited to non-adaptive bandwidth connections, cannot achieve maximized data throughput of their physical capacity. This technical problem also presents a significant economic dilemma, since the physical network capacity is among the main network cost drivers, while the data throughput is among the primary network revenue drivers.
These factors create a need for an innovation enabling networks in which physical layer connection capacities adapt automatically to optimize the allocation of the network capacity continuously and thereby maximize the network data throughput.